


the adventures of bunny bruce

by mothwrites



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Animal Transformation, Domestic Fluff, F/M, M/M, Rabbits
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-05-29 06:29:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6363184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothwrites/pseuds/mothwrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Always-a-bunny verse: Bruce is a rescue rabbit adopted by Tony and Pepper from the Shield Animal Shelter. (Tony/Pepper). (It’s crack, but it’s cute.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	the adventures of bunny bruce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five times Tony and Pepper hid Bruce from each other, and one time he hid from them. (Always-a-bunny verse.)

“Have you seen my scarf?”

“Bruce took it,” Tony informed Pepper, absorbed in his laptop. “It’s his nest now.”

“Rabbits don’t live in nests.” Pepper, half in her coat, scanned the room for their third roommate. She found Bruce in his customary spot; under the sofa and apparently watching the TV from in the snuggly confines of her cashmere scarf.

“Burrow, then,” Tony amended.

“Bruce…” Pepper held out a hand for him to sniff. He leaned forward momentarily, ascertained that there was no treat or head scratch on offer, and nestled back down. In her scarf. “Bruce, this is _cashmere._ ”

“Thank god it wasn’t angora,” Tony said.

“You’re not helping. Bruce, sweetheart…”

“Are you trying to steal a comfort blanket from a rescue animal? Shame on you, Ms Potts. Shame.” Tony got up from his work to join her as they both crouched down opposite their shared pet. “Come here, Bruce. Let the mean lady have her scarf.” Bruce poked his nose out for the blueberry that had magically appeared in the pal of Tony’s hand, and as soon as he got close enough, Tony scooped him up and held him to his chest. “There you go, buddy. You can make a nest in my hoodie instead. There’s a bunny-shaped pocket just for you.”

Pepper smiled at both of them. She gave Bruce a quick scratch under the ears and Tony a kiss on the cheek before grabbing her scarf and standing up to go. “Just you wait, Stark,” she warned her human roommate as she left. “I’m going to hide him in _your_ clothes, see how _you_ like it.”

Bruce poked his nose out of Tony’s sweatshirt pocket, sniffing in a way that Tony was sure meant _but I’m already in your clothes._

“I know, buddy,” he sighed, petting Bruce with his free hand and scrolling through his laptop with the other. “She’s cranky when she works too much. Don’t worry. I won’t let her steal you.”

*

The next morning, Tony couldn’t find Bruce. Well, he had to admit, it was more like early afternoon. But still. Bruce was missing, and that was the important part. Usually when his owners slept in Bruce would make his way into their bedroom, hop onto the bed and growl until somebody fed him. Tony didn’t even know that rabbits _could_ growl before they brought Bruce home. Yet it was half 12 in the afternoon, and there was no sign of his grumpy bunny anywhere.

 _“Bruce!”_ he called again. “Okay. Rabbits don’t come when you call, that’s new information. If I was a rabbit, where would I be? Hidden in the laundry basket? Searching the kitchen for treats? Causing havoc in the local garden centre?” Struck by an idea, he snapped his fingers. “ _The garden._ I’m onto you, you furry menace.” There was a small ‘garden’ enclosure on the balcony that they’d recently bunny-proofed and introduced Bruce to. Tony jogged out of the room before remembering that going on the balcony was really a trousers-on activity. Clothes first, then rabbit.

Tony pulled open the underwear drawer and shoved his hand in to locate the first pair of clean pants he could. His hand brushed past cotton, and silk, and… fur?

Two paws popped up on the edge of the drawer, and as Tony watched, Bruce’s little bunny head came up. He seemed to be wearing one of Tony’s socks on his ears. “How the hell did you…”

The half-empty bowl of food nestled in between the underwear caught Tony’s attention as he picked up his pet. “ _Pepper._ This is _war._ ”

*

“You are so lucky you’re cute,” Pepper growled, trying to brush out all the rabbit fur from her handbag.

“Aww, it’s not Bruce’s fault – “

“I wasn’t talking to him!”

*

“This is who I am now,” Tony groaned, letting Bruce settle on his lap before they drove off again. The door to the glove compartment where he’d been hiding was still hanging open: the sunglasses he’d been trying to find were a lost cause. “I’m a man who takes my rabbit to board meetings.”

*

Pepper sunk gracefully into her office chair. A full day of meetings with difficult (and often just plain _rude_ ) clients had taken all the energy out of her. The only light in her day was the message her assistant had sent her before she walked in, saying that Tony had been in her office while she was out and left her some food. Wine would have been good too, but that could wait till later.

There was a paper bag on her desk from her favourite restaurant, and a bottle of fancy-looking cordial sat beside it. There was also, intriguingly, a yellow post-it stuck to her desk drawer that said _open me!_ in Tony’s familiar scrawl.

She heard a muffled squeak as she pulled it open. “Oh, he didn’t…”

Bruce leaned up from his comfortable spot, nestled in newspaper. Tony had tied a blue silk bow around his neck and he sniffed at her hands excitedly as if to say _Hello! I’m a surprise! Am I a good surprise? Do you like me?_

“Oh, I’m very pleased to see you,” she told him, picking him up and smiling into his soft grey fur. He sat happily with his head on her shoulder, and then scrambled back to affectionately lick her nose.

An hour or so later, Tony got a picture message of Bruce sitting patiently on Pepper’s $400 Chanel pencil skirt as she worked at her desk. _Look who came to keep me company! – Pep x_

*

Bruce had bundled himself in several layers of warm sheets and blankets, but he was still shivering. He didn’t like loud voices and things flying around. His last home – well, not a _home_ – had been full of that before the small man in the suit had picked him up and taken him away to the rescue centre. He could hear his new human’s voices outside and they were much softer now so he felt safe to come out, but there was one problem. When he’d jumped into the warm cupboard, the door had shut behind him, and now he was stuck.

“Grr,” he tried. Not loud enough. He hit the inside of the door with his nose and paws, and when that didn’t work he found himself squeaking in alarm. _Tony! Pepper! Help!_

The voices grew closer. He scratched at the door with his paws. There was the sound of a clink, and then there was light, and then his paws weren’t scratching anything and he was falling forward –

Pepper caught him and he scrambled up until he was in his favourite, safest spot; in her arms with his head on her shoulder. “There, there,” she cooed, scratching around his ears lightly with her manicured fingernails. “We’ve got you. We’re sorry.”

“Then again, you did lock _yourself_ in an airing cupboard,” Tony said, but stopped when Pepper shot a _look_ at him. “What? Do you really want me to apologise to the rabbit?”

“He ran off because he was scared!”

“You’re the one was throwing things! You threw a shoe at me!”

“It was only a ballet flat!”

“When did they stop being shoes?”

“ _Ssh._ ” Pepper pressed a kiss to the top of Bruce’s head, and then picked him up and pointed him at Tony. “Apologise.”

Tony sighed, and bent down so he was face to face with Bruce. “I’m sorry, buddy. We didn’t mean to scare you. We’re not fighting anymore.” He flicked his eyes back up to his girlfriend. “Right?”

“Right,” she confirmed. “Because I won.”

“You did _not –_ “

Bruce growled, stopping them both. Tony laughed and took him from Pepper. “Okay, mom and dad are done fighting! We promise. Let’s find you some treats to make up for it, huh?”

Bruce aimed carefully and licked his nose. They were strange humans. But they were his.


End file.
